Arctic Winds. Sondrae Bennett
as well. Call Eddie and ask if he’ll come over.” Eddie Pritchard was the town physician and, although not shifter himself, was used to taking care of those who were. Unlike most shifter communities, the full humans in Alpine Woods were considered pack. They attended pack meetings and events along with the wolf shifters.
Jason went back to examining the beauty in his arms as Martha moved to make the call. He was surprised at the spurt of frightened anger that ran through him when she mentioned going away and never coming back. He barely knew the woman, but he definitely wanted to change that. His wolf howled at him to find out everything about her. He’d never felt such a strong attraction to a woman before. He didn’t even know her name, but he wanted her with a fierce passion. Even starving and ill, she was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. Her hair was so blond it appeared white and fell down her back in long waves. She had a delicate face with a long nose and sharp cheekbones. Her almond-shaped eyes had been crystal blue.
He looked up as the front door opened, the cold air blowing against him where he sat. He watched his younger brother’s eyebrows rise as Ethan took in the woman in his arms. His two brothers, Ethan and Danny, helped him run the pack. As the oldest, Jason was technically Premier, but they were his officers and their leadership was a team in the truest sense of the word. The pack looked to all three to keep them safe and happy.
“What’s with the girl?”
Jason looked back down at the woman he held. It would probably be better to lay her down, but he didn’t want to relinquish her warm body yet. Logically, he knew he would have to once Eddie arrived, but until then, she felt right in his arms, like she belonged there.
“I don’t know. She collapsed. Eddie’s on his way.”
As he watched, the woman shifted slightly against him, seeking the warmth of his body. She was a tiny thing. Everything about her called on his protective instincts. Whatever she needed, he wanted to be the one to provide it. Starting with some food. Jason scowled at her almost sunken cheeks. She was too skinny and looked like she’d been surviving on breadcrumbs.
“Earth to J?” Ethan waved his hand in front of Jason’s face. “Where did she come from?”
“I don’t know. She was sitting in the booth. When I went over to see what she was doing here, she panicked. She looked at me like she thought I was going to tear her head off. Kept apologizing and stuttering, and then collapsed.”
“Interesting,” Ethan murmured, watching him closely as Eddie bustled into the diner carrying his black bag.
When Eddie reached them, he motioned for Ethan to help him push several tables together. Jason felt himself stiffen. As stupid as it sounded, especially considering it was his request, he didn’t want Eddie to look at her. He wanted to bundle her up and take her back to his house to care for her himself. Already his wolf thought of her as his.
Reining in his irrational wolf for the moment, he laid his precious bundle on the hastily put together exam table. Not wanting to give up contact completely, he grabbed her hand and held it in both of his as Eddie looked her over. Jason noticed Ethan staring at their joined hands and growled a warning.
His brother’s shocked gaze rose to meet his, before a wide grin slowly spread over his features.
“So that’s the way it is. Guess we’re adding a new pack mate.”
“Huh?” Eddie asked, having missed the exchange.
“Never mind, Eddie. Make sure we take good care of this one,” Ethan said.
“Just get on with it,” Jason growled. Ethan’s smile widened, silently mocking him. “Get that look off your face. It’s not what you think. Don’t you have somewhere you need to be?”
“Not at all. I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be than right here.” Ethan crossed his arms and leaned back against the table behind him.
“I swear, your only purpose in life is to torture me. Why don’t you get out before I beat you black and blue?”
2
Samantha heard arguing but couldn’t make out any of the words. It seemed close and yet so far away. Was someone growling at her? Everything seemed fuzzy. Her head felt like it weighed a hundred pounds, and her eyes refused to open.
The growling came again, louder this time.
She heard people talking, but the words didn’t make sense. Her hand was trapped in something. Had she fallen while hunting? No, that wasn’t right. She hadn’t gone hunting. She’d gone to the diner instead. The wolf had come, talking about his town. Wolf town! Her world shifted into focus in a panicked flood.
“Get out before I beat you black and blue,” someone snarled at her.
She sat up with a gasp. Wolves surrounded her, three to be exact. No, one of them wasn’t a wolf, only two. Only two, Samantha thought on the verge of hysteria. One was more than enough to kill her where she sat, and the town must be teeming with others. Wolves lived in packs. Where there was one, inevitably there were more.
“Please don’t.” Samantha’s voice sounded rough even to her own ears. “I’ll leave. You don’t need to do that! I’ll go.”
“Easy, honey,” the non-wolf said, rubbing her arm soothingly. Her other hand was caught by wolf number one. “Listen to me. I’m a doctor, and I’m going to take good care of you. Okay? You sit right here and let me make sure you’re all right.” The man must have been in his sixties. His gray hair surrounded a bald patch, and his kind eyes were framed by wide black spectacles. He was a heavy man and although not small, the two wolves dwarfed him.
Samantha tried tugging on her left hand but the wolf held firm. “You don’t understand,” she whispered to the man. “I have to go.” Samantha looked back at the wolf holding her hand. “I don’t want to cause any problems.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” he growled.
Samantha’s eyes widened. “Is it too late?”
A puzzled expression crossed his face. “Too late for what?”
“To escape the beating.”
There was a long pause before the second wolf asked, “What beating?”
Confused, Samantha looked back and forth between the two wolves before settling on the one who held her hand. “The one you said you’d give me if I didn’t leave.”
All three men looked at her like she had two heads. She’d been told when a wolf hunted, he stared his prey down, but she didn’t think she’d be stared at when she made such an easy target. She figured they’d just kill her and get it over with.
“You told her you’d beat her if she didn’t leave?” The second wolf’s sudden exclamation made Samantha jump. His relaxed pose disappeared instantly as he rounded on the first wolf.
“Of course I didn’t!” The first wolf twisted toward the second. She thought about making a run for it, but the first wolf still had her hand trapped in his. There was no way she’d make it out of the diner, so that plan was out. She realized all three men were once again staring at her.
“I…I’m sorry. What?” Samantha asked hesitantly.
“I said,” the one with her hand gritted out between his teeth, “when did you think I said I’d beat you if you didn’t leave?”
“Uh, just now. I was waking up and you said, ‘Get out before I beat you black and blue’.” Why hadn’t they gotten this over with already?
Wolf number two burst out laughing, and even the doctor smiled. The man patted her shoulder and placed a stethoscope on her back.
“Now, don’t you worry, Jason may look big and scary, but he’d never raise his hand to a woman. What’s your name, sweetheart?”